The Stardust Effect
by StardustRose22
Summary: Yusei gave his life to save he people he loves. Little did he know that he wasn't the only one ready to make a sacrifice- and little did Akiza know that Stardust always, always comes back.


Author's Note: I'm baaaaaaa-*starts coughing*-ugh-back. Welcome to my second piece for _Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's_! For thos of you who read my chapter story "Don't," I would first like to thank you for reading such, and secondly I'd like to tell you that this one-shot does not contain Tatiana or Stella. I'm sticking to the original characters for this one. another thing I'd like to say to everyone is where I got the inspiration for this work- if its not obvious- "_You can tribute this card to negate the activation of a Spell Card, Trap Card, or Effect Monsters' effect that destroys a card(s) on the field, and destroy that card. If you negate an effect this way, you can Special Summon the card from your Graveyard during the End Phase_."- Yusei's "Stardust Dragon." I was only able to watch the 4Kids version of the anime, *angrily throws TV out window* so when I heard about Sherry telling Yusei he would die, I actually expected it to happen. Honestly, I guess I would have preferred if it had actually happened. I think that if Yusei died saving the city, the message that he would do anything for the people he loves would really have been hit home. So, I guess this is my version of that message. Even though this takes place in the Japanese version, I'm going to use the dub names (Akiza instead of Aki). This is mainly because I'm confused by Rua and Ruka (I can imagine her saying ironically- "Do I LOOK like my brother?"). Enjoy!

Even though I'd like to believe that when he died, I was still strong. That I held my eyes on that disappearing Arc Cradle, and I didn't look away or see my eyes blur with tears. That I watched it until every last fiber of its being was gone. That when the wind blew my hair back and tossed my skirt behind me, I looked determined to honor his memory with everything I had. That my voice, unwavering, said proudly and confidently- "I'll miss you, Yusei."

However, I won't lie- I didn't take his death that way at all.

I skipped right over the shock- my mark told me he was gone, and ever since he entered my life I knew I could trust it. I slid too my knees and sobbed, the breeze not even coming close to drying my tears.

With my shoulders hunched, looking down at the blurry ground, I didn't even need to look up to know that I wasn't the only one. All of us loved him so much that there was no way we could go on without him. No one came to comfort us, because we knew he would never be standing next to us ever again.

I didn't even notice when the enemy brought back his body, looking down at him sadly, like he never wanted it to happen this way. He left him unmoving, not even a single uneasy breath, or a fluttering heartbeat. His body was unscarred, but he was just …gone, like his soul had taken flight and finally escaped the troubles of our world.

He left behind all of us to deal with the gaping hole in our lives, the one he used to fill. I know he did it to save us, that that we would all be dead if he hadn't. He gave up his life willingly to save ours. I shut my eyes. _Gave his life…_

I had always wondered if that meant he had committed suicide. No, it doesn't. Yusei didn't leave for the sake of leaving. He wasn't trying to be dramatic, he made a simple choice. Yes, the choice that he made was a simple one, but the aftershock would be so much more than _simple._

I can only speak for myself, but I think that's enough. Yusei meant more than anything to me. He was the shooting star of my life, the one that brought me back home when I was lost. He's the one who really _gave _me a home. Jack and Crow and the twins put up with me, but I don't think we'd be friends if it wasn't for Yusei. If he hadn't accepted me into the gang, if he hadn't looked deeper into my eyes and saw that I really was a good person, which he made me believe I was, I would still have been tearing up streets, and living on them.

I couldn't help but think- _Would all that change now?_

I wouldn't let it. I would use what he taught me, how to be a good person. I would have to be the person who was compassionate and caring, someone that everybody wanted to be around. I would take his place…

I had lost it then, that thought echoing in my mind. I cradled him close to me, unable to feel his light breathing on my neck, the rise and fall of his chest. He was just _gone._

And that fact is what made everything happen.

I guess the Crimson Dragon didn't want his Signer to die so young, looking back on it. But at that moment, at that split second where I knew I was a Signer, all that mattered was Yusei.

There was a pulling deep within my soul, ready to give me what I wanted back so much- his life.

My mark glowed bright, the red hue dyeing our surroundings. I gasped for breath through my tears and they trickled down my cheeks. Jack picked up his head from where he was kneeling on the ground, his mark flourishing with a crimson light.

He looked at me then, his eyes flashing with every emotion imaginable- sadness, guilt, longing, and love. Yes, any emotion except wish to give in, any emotion but contentment with the situation.

"W…what?" Luna's voice was the first to break the heavy silence, her voice thick in the back of her throat. She and Leo's marks picked up on their light, almost as if they were following the lead of mine and Jack's. Crow had a determined look on his face as he stood, his mark doing the same.

I had felt it again then, a deep, tugging feeling in the back of my mind, my heart, and my soul. Like something was trying to tear free and leave me, and go to Yusei. Like whatever it was could have been just as desperate to save him as I was.

Jack was the one who figured it out. He walked over to us, and I realized I was the only one close to Yusei. I would have blushed at the situation, if it wasn't for my pain, the fracture in my soul. Jack laid his hand flat on Yusei's chest and after a few moments seemed to wince. It occurred to me that he was almost scared of how cold and unmoving Yusei was. It could have also been the hope that Yusei was just sleeping, but I know that Jack knew better. He was just kidding himself.

He looked down at his best friend's closed eyes sadly, his hand curling into a fist.

Then it happened.

Jack's mark disappeared from his arm, and his part of the Crimson Dragon glowed brightly underneath him. There was a spark of warmth in Yusei, like consciousness, like _life _was struggling to get to the surface. Crow had seen Jack do this, and glanced over at him. Jack looked down at his arm, and even pulled back the sleeve to make him believe he was really seeing that his mark was gone, that it really wasn't with him anymore.

He looked bewildered at the sight that had greeted him that day. If Yusei wasn't fighting, if he wasn't about to win, if he wasn't even _alive_, Jack wouldn't be getting his mark back- Jack Atlas was no longer a Signer.

I didn't know it then, but taking it even farther, the Crimson Dragon took back its servant, the Red Dragon Archfiend, along with Jack's ability as a duelist.

Taken.

Crow hesitantly let his fingers skim the fabric of Yusei's shirt, letting them eventually press down on his ribs. Like a ghost disappearing, the mark faded from his skin, making its new home right next to Jack's old mark. It happened to Crow, too. His dragon fled from his life, taking with it Crow's dueling abilities, never to resurface again. Like the combos and loopholes and everything he had learned was just locked away and the key thrown into the ocean.

The twins knew what they had to do, the heart of the Crimson Dragon growing brightly over Yusei's. I learned later that Luna had lost the connection she had to the duel monster spirit world- and Leo's connection to it through his sister vanished as well. Their dragons' earthly bonds were broken, and Ancient Fairy Dragon left to go rule her kingdom.

I knew what I had to do, and let my hand fall. Then, what was tugging inside of me had broken free, the seams ripping open and fleeing my body, taking my mark with it. I had not known it then, but it had been my psychic powers. They had left me along with my sorrow, my grief for the dead young man that had laid in my arms.

And I'm going to tell you a little secret. If I had known back then that was the consequence, that it was the price I had to pay for his life, I would have done it all over again. I would have given up the part of me that makes me unique, the part of me that makes me a Signer. And its not because I always disliked my powers- no, I would give that up to save anyone's life. I would have even given up my own life to save his.

Even though they never said it, even though Jack complained constantly that his life was over because of that choice, I knew they would have done the same too.

I'll tell you now that there is no way to describe the rush of joy I felt when a startled, jolting breath filled his lungs and his heart beat and the full, complete sign of the Crimson Dragon burned on his chest and grew brighter and brighter. There is no telling the feeling of weightlessness and love I felt when his eyes opened and the very first thing he saw was my face, welcoming him home.

Even now, sixty years later, and even though Yusei is gone, I still remember that day. The day that he gave up everything he had and more to save the people he loved. We all stopped dueling, and ended up living together for a very, very long time. We got jobs and some of us started families, but Yusei and I never married. We remained close, until the day I had to hold his dead body again, knowing that it was indeed his time.

But I haven't given up hope, because Stardust's effect is to always come back somehow.


End file.
